Calling Andeon, Nisael, Lifebringer, Eliwren and Maytook!

[Kiralynn]

I am hoping to publish an interview with the folks who qualified for the Bree Cup early. I just posted Kikilaa's interview this morning. (It's cute, check it out!) There are only three pre-race days left. If you're on the list above, I know you're terribly busy, but I will be so excited if you take a moment to reply with answers to a few interview questions. I can post a nice screenshot of you and your horse with the article. (I'll even come take a screenshot if you can't do so yourself, just catch me online!)


* Who are you and where are you from?
* Which horse will you be riding in the championship race?
* What made you choose this horse from your stable above all the others?
* What inspires you to race horses?
* What was your biggest race and what was it like to participate in it?
* How do you train before a race?
* What are your racing strengths and weaknesses?
* Were you excited to win an invitation to the Bree Championship Cup?
* Is there anyone special who will be cheering for you? Who is your biggest fan?
* Is there anything else you would like everyone to know about you?


Thanks for sharing your racing perspective with your local race fans!

[Andeon]

1 - I am Andeon, Captain of Men, Man of Dale, and proud Captain of the Guard of the Lonely Mountain Band!

2 - For this championship race, I'll be entering a recent addition to my stable; Cerulean, a 5th Anniversary Celebration Horse

3 - Cerulean is a brand new addition to my stable, but has already embodied the spirit of pride and competition that I prize in my racing horses, and I hope to cross the finish line with this spectacular steed in front!

4 - Honestly, the reason I *started* racing has expanded during my racing career and experience. I started almost purely for the level of skill necessary to navigate a course effectively, and that was enough to get me started. But, over time, I've come not only to appreciate the skill required to start quickly, to choose an effective route and then to navigate it moment to moment effectively, but also to appreciate the challenge of competing against other races, the relatively calm professionalism that I see in my fellow competitors AND especially in the race organizers, and the community of fans that have grown up around the sport.

5 - as far as pure competition, I'd almost *have* to say that my biggest race was last year's Spring Racing Carnival Final Race, but truth be told, it was fairly straightforward, and while I'm proud of my performance, I don't feel like it was particularly spectacular.

I think, this year, my favorite race was the final race of the circuit year, The Bywater Steeple chase. I didn't quite perform overall as well as I'd hoped, but I exceeded my own expectations, I know exactly what held me back from a 1st place performance, and I found the course very challenging (although I really wish there were a way to make jumping the broken bridge a course *requirement* :)) and exciting to navigate, which is still my first love in horse racing.

6 - These days, I train by hitting the course beforehand as often and early as possible, which, sadly, sometimes, isn't much. Ideally, I'll run the course about a dozen times several days before race day, and then again three or four run-throughs the night before, or the day of. While running the course, especially lately, I keep a very close eye out for "shortcuts", as these seem to be *the* key to getting that extra half-length of distance that separates 1st place from 3rd.

I also have found lately that I need to keep a simple countdown watch, as there are often several points in the course that have a "you can go left, or you can go right" option - each choice carries certain costs and benefits, and the difference between the two could be that last second worth of time you need to keep a lead, not lose entirely due to a mistake, or get that extra edge that pushes you from 2nd to 1st.

Most of our really dedicated riders already know this, but some basic advice - 1 - run the race course at least a couple of times beforehand - this lets you avoid any glaring mistakes, and usually lets you optimize your navigation, putting you ahead of anyone who hasn't done at least this much prep. 2 - Jumping slows you - a small deviation in course to make it through a hole in a fence may cost you less than a direct route that makes you jump a fence (sadly, I find this to be a tad disappointing, as I enjoy fence running and jumping, but they're less efficient, and the best racers will look for ways to avoid it) 3 - There are tricks to dropping down slopes that may cost a tiny bit of extra time, but save you a broken leg, which can kill your lead in a race. Practice dropping off of slopes, looking for those mid-length ridges that will *count* as having landed, so that you trick the system into believing that you've made several short drops, instead of one big one.

7 - I still believe my biggest strengths when racing, are a very fast start, and a very tight control of my moment to moment navigation. I still feel that a very good opening start is a key to winning, and it's very important to respond quickly, but NOT to anticipate the start - the last thing I want to do is false start - that's a sign, to me, of someone with a lack of precise control.
Moment to moment navigation is also very important - making sure not to waste a single second on unnecessary turns, keeping your amount of excess movement to a minimum, is another key feature to coming in with the front runners.

I still feel my biggest weakness is choosing my course where shortcuts are concerned...I still find it difficult to decide which left or right choice will end up being optimal, and I've had to resort to using a stopwatch while practicing courses, because I find it very difficult to *intuit* which course ends up being faster.

8 - Yes, I was excited to win an invitation to the Bree Championship Cup, but truth be told, I knew that there would be plenty of opportunities to place, and I've had enough experience with this new sport to be reasonably confident that I would manage to make entry during one of the six qualifiers. I hope that doesn't sound unreasonably arrogant, but my performance has been reasonably consistent over the past two years, that I felt reasonably confident about qualifying.

Now, as for the Championship itself...that's going to be exciting.

9 - Not sure I can say if I have a biggest fan or not, but I've got a couple of dedicated supporters that always offer me words of encouragement while racing - I certainly hope they'll be there to cheer me on again! And I certainly hope to give them a fantastic show!!

10 - I guess the only thing I wish people could know about me that they don't already, is that I show up at far fewer races than I would like. Due to scheduling, I'm only available during weekends, and a lot of the races happen during midweek. While I'm glad that the race schedule manages to accommodate all manner of eager and invested racers, I do regret missing so many opportunities. Still, I manage to make a respectable showing when I do show, and I'm content with that.

I took a couple of decent screenshots with my new horse, I'll try and post those later tonight - along with the 50 other things I'm going to try to cram into the last 4 hours of my night.../sigh

[Kiralynn]

Great interview, I can't wait to see the screenshots!

[High Life]

1. I am an elf of Rivendell, dedicated minstrel and fan of all things equine. I have been back in Rivendell lately, taking care of obligations there, but can't wait to journey out for the final race!

2. I am unsure of which horse I will bring quite yet. Buck has a sore hoof, and Zephyr has caught a case of colic. I have to see which other in my stable is most swift!

3. Whichever horse I choose must be fleet as Shadowfax, with the heart and spirit liken to Brego.

4. The sheer adrenaline and excitement of the race is what brings me to participate. The cheers of the crowd, the power and speed of my mount - these are things unmatched in any other experience.

5. My biggest race....hmmm. The name escapes me, but the route took us through the entire Shire, up and over various fences, around the Watchtower and back to the Methel-Stage. The beauty of the land is something unique and lovely to behold!

6. To train for a race, I carefully look over the mapped route and then run it over and over for at least a few hours. I take different routes between checkpoints and actually time myself. I especially try to figure out if it's quicker to take a particular jump or to go around.

7. My strength in racing is in diligent preparation. My weakness is in a certain hesitation to take the more risky routes, which has cost me more than one win!

8. I was most excited to qualify for the Bree Cup final! The competition will be fierce, and the prize is quite grand!

9. I daresay my biggest fan is my husband Pengurion. He'll be cheering the loudest, if he knows what's good for him! :D

10. I would like to offer my best wishes to the other competitors, and my thanks to Kiralynn and all the judges and volunteers that make these events possible!